Dubai World shake-up

Dubai World has handed control of property developer Limitless to its sister company Nakheel, reports the National.

It’s the latest in a number of moves as the conglomerate restructures its senior management and struggles to restructure debts of $23.5 billion. The company has also appointed a new board at Economic Zones World, its free zones operator.

The reorganization follows similar changes within Nakheel itself, says the paper, and does not affect the terms of Dubai World’s financial restructure, as Limitless is excluded from that process.

The board of Nakheel, the developer of the Palm Jumeirah, will take over running Limitless “in a step aimed at setting united strategies and programmes to deal with the real estate sector,” said the Dubai Media Office.

“There is a dire need to consolidate developers and their operations to bring some balance between demand and supply,” Saud Masud, the head of property research at UBS in Dubai, told the paper. “A transaction of such a nature helps with operational efficiency but unfortunately comes at the cost of jobs. It is also possible that Limitless’s project activities will see a slowdown as Nakheel takes charge.”

Limitless’s main project in the emirate was the Arabian Canal, a 75km inland waterway, which was put on hold by the financial crisis, says the paper.